i agree the refs are shit.. its not just us..its league wide...many other games u hear the commentators going off about the refs..there horrid, that being said... we as a team need to stop bitching about it during games..just play hard & play through it eventually well get some respect, but if we keep showing up the refs during games we will never get calls.. just as players like LBJ have a rep with the refs. & gets to line alot.. u can also have a rep of always complaining & expecting calls..

all this being said there def. needs to be some kind of investigation league wide as to why the refs are soooo bad.

In my opinion, this season we've seen some really horrible officiating going against Toronto, on a frighteningly consistent basis. I like to think I'm being as objective as possible here (obviously i'm slightly biased, but not terribly). Anyone else noticing this?

Paranoia is such a wonderful excuse to explain any undesirable outcome!

i agree the refs are shit.. its not just us..its league wide...many other games u hear the commentators going off about the refs..there horrid, that being said... we as a team need to stop bitching about it during games..just play hard & play through it eventually well get some respect, but if we keep showing up the refs during games we will never get calls.. just as players like LBJ have a rep with the refs. & gets to line alot.. u can also have a rep of always complaining & expecting calls..

all this being said there def. needs to be some kind of investigation league wide as to why the refs are soooo bad.

+1 on this.

I dont think the refs are biased against the Raptors, im putting it on timing. But to dismiss the fact that "bad calls" or "non-calls" do not affect the game, is what i dont agree with. Refs are humans too, they make error in judgements and for all we know, like last night's game, they probably were tired running up and down the floor so they just want to get the game done and over with. and thats what needs to be addressed. refs really have nothing to gain whether a particular team wins or loses, but what needs to be reviewed is how the quality of their calls affect the outcome of the game. but most likely, nothing will ever be done. bottomline is, who cares? not the players, theyre getting paid regardless. not the coaches, theyre getting paid regardless and if they do say something, they get fined. Mark Cuban was the only one who ever put out a complaint because he's the one, as an owner, who's getting lowballed. So up until all the other owners say something, we just have to hope that the raps build 30pt leads every single game.

The NBA has bad officiating. Don't think it is necessarily a raptors bias but there is a players bias. When I hear that the call wasn't made because Derozen is just looking for the call how is that any different than what Dwayne Wade does other than he gets the benefit of the doubt. The officials spend too much time giving the benefit of the doubt to star players. I remember watching a show on NBATV called You Make the Call where Ronnie Nunn basically admitted that they do this. I have said it before they need to call the play not the player. They should take who the player is out of the equation and call the game based on the rules, not player tendency.

The officiating will always be looked at in this league as biased because they had a betting scandal that they swept under the rug rather than being completely transparent about the whole situation. It creates doubt and has hurt the perception of officiating in this league which always seemed to have this player bias.

indifference legacy

officiating mistakes are always easy to commit against Toronto and get away with it. It is not only about the refs throwing 'jump ball' towards Utah players twice last night or not calling any fouls to protect Toronto players. There is so much more:
1. Players do not complain, scream even before contact, and follow refs around demanding explanations. Example - Lakers. Bryant constantly moans "e-e-eey" each time he even gets close to the basket, or opponent. This scream is rehearsed and practiced as a dribbling or a jump shot. Serves dual purposes, firstly, to alert the refs that they need to react and protect him, and secondly, he mobilizes coaching staff to erupt in protest and yell out their opinions and protests, thus, creating an environment of the entitlement.
2. Team coach, staff and management are overly complacent, meek, and emotionally disengaged. Examples - blown clock management in Atlanta that cost us a game a couple of years ago, or a severe foul on tj ford which ended up his season. Toronto never protested any of these or any other officiating campaigns that hurt our team. Casey, last night, dejectedly complained with an "oh man..." instead of yelling and protesting and demanding balanced approach to calling fouls, and, heck, even earning a technical foul or two to make the point.
3. Toronto crowd is soft too. Idiots feel comfortable coming to our floor making dunks and jeering the crowd, or, kneeing our player to the stomach and then standing on top of him gloating and pumping elbows. Many years ago, I saw a guy in Detroit throw a drink on a woman in raps jersey because she cheered on too much. Opposing teams and players feel ok to come here and disrespect, there is no backlash (hell I hated each time Sacramento played here, it felt we moved to serbia). Refs feel and treat Toronto the same way.

officiating mistakes are always easy to commit against Toronto and get away with it. It is not only about the refs throwing 'jump ball' towards Utah players twice last night or not calling any fouls to protect Toronto players. There is so much more:
1. Players do not complain, scream even before contact, and follow refs around demanding explanations. Example - Lakers. Bryant constantly moans "e-e-eey" each time he even gets close to the basket, or opponent. This scream is rehearsed and practiced as a dribbling or a jump shot. Serves dual purposes, firstly, to alert the refs that they need to react and protect him, and secondly, he mobilizes coaching staff to erupt in protest and yell out their opinions and protests, thus, creating an environment of the entitlement.
2. Team coach, staff and management are overly complacent, meek, and emotionally disengaged. Examples - blown clock management in Atlanta that cost us a game a couple of years ago, or a severe foul on tj ford which ended up his season. Toronto never protested any of these or any other officiating campaigns that hurt our team. Casey, last night, dejectedly complained with an "oh man..." instead of yelling and protesting and demanding balanced approach to calling fouls, and, heck, even earning a technical foul or two to make the point.
3. Toronto crowd is soft too. Idiots feel comfortable coming to our floor making dunks and jeering the crowd, or, kneeing our player to the stomach and then standing on top of him gloating and pumping elbows. Many years ago, I saw a guy in Detroit throw a drink on a woman in raps jersey because she cheered on too much. Opposing teams and players feel ok to come here and disrespect, there is no backlash (hell I hated each time Sacramento played here, it felt we moved to serbia). Refs feel and treat Toronto the same way.

lol. Imagining a Lakers practice where Kobe switches from practising free throws to practising yelps while driving to the basket.. I don't think so dude.

1. Disagree. Toronto players moan and yelp just as much as Kobe. It's obnoxious, and I don't think it's a benefit to the game. It may draw the ref's attention, but it's still annoying.
2. Agreed. I wouldn't mind seeing the coach get tossed every once in a while.
3. Disagree. Our fans are plenty loud. Did you imply that you wish our fans would throw beers at other fans for cheering on their team? I think you're missing the mark here, and I don't think it alters the officiating. I was at the Philly game on Saturday and plenty of fans were giving the refs a piece of their mind.

In my opinion, this season we've seen some really horrible officiating going against Toronto, on a frighteningly consistent basis. I like to think I'm being as objective as possible here (obviously i'm slightly biased, but not terribly). Anyone else noticing this?

Have at it.

I totally agree - I am hanging this one on D Casey he wants to win and be liked by everyone... it is just not possible.

Maybe it's time for Casey to eat the forthcoming fine, and make a public complaint himself.

Through 8 games, Raps have shot 182 free throws to our opponents' 246 (an average of 8 less attempts per game).

Toronto's ft discrepency is easily explained

They give up alot of FTs because they have little rim protection. As a result Casey tries to pack the paint which means when someone does attempt to penetrate or post up you get a hand reaching in or a body moving a split second too late. Its a simple matter of phsics. Too much moving 'stuff' (hands, arms, bodies, legs) in a small space.

They don't get to the free throw line because two of their highest usage players, Andrea and Demar, are still trying to avoid contact. The players in the NBA who get to the line consistently both initiate and invite contact. They don't double clutch once in the air, they don't try to euro step around players, they don't try to turn everything into a reverse lay up. Towards the rim, while going over, into or through the defense gets you to the line. As long as they don't reach the other extreme, looking like a drunken running back trying to bust through a goal line stand, they will shoot more free throws.